London Out-Takes, 2

Seven weeks in London generated its share of out-takes, a few of which are below and in the next post. 

The blacks cabs are already going EV; sorry, Elon

"In a house on this site" was an expression we saw too much, 

although, thankfully, the Britons do keep track and document

such things; I guess you can't argue with progress or the needs

of today's residents; although you can argue with Blitzes, V1s 

and V2s...

Tiny house on the Strand or Fleet Street; actually
a tiny pub: Ye Olde Cock Tavern and Gin Palace

Large old olive tree growing at the Brunswick Centre (residential,
shopping (Waitrose, Boots, Robert Dyas, numerous restos, cafes,
galleries, Tesco and Sainsbury expresses, etc.), near where we lived;
now is the time to invest in British viticulture

Well-attired British gentleman; the sweatpants
nearly match the tartan jacket

At a posh furniture/accessories store in Kensington...Longhorns
to decorate you coffee table; must cater to Texans

I am still trying to do the low carb thing, so here is my specimen
partial English breakfast (note the egg yolk omelet); petit-dejeuner
anglais partiel

It's pouring rain, we are sheltering under a huge plane tree in
Grosvenor Square, and this Brit is out playing with his dog; note
the dog is wearing a raincoat...

Typical British wine nomenclature...

"3...to...Crystal Palace" (you have to ride a lot of red double-
deckers to appreciate)

Queen's Gambit...love her 10th century expression

[click to enlarge] If Arcimboldo had been a landscape painter...

COVID lock-down recovery

James Smith Umbrellas and Sticks; near the British Museum;
an institution

The fascination with Egypt...must be an Imperial Thing

This poor building, near the BT tower, has been
attacked by a giant ten-legged mutant beetle from 
outer space; or possibly it could be the predecessor
to Bowellism

Camden...

Another reason to wear a mask

Still not over this

So California...

OJ on the rocks

Another well-attired British gentlemen...note matching hair and tie

Christian cannon ball; who would Jesus bombard?

Entrepreneurship is alive and well here

Free water-coloring class outside the National Gallery of Art; seriously

Last London Scenes

The packing squared away, the arrangements made, everything seen that we wanted to see, we spent our last time in London just walking around a bit. Much of our time is on foot, either getting somewhere, shopping, getting our exercise steps, or, much of the time, just wandering around to see whatever we might happen onto. In an old place like London, rich in history, art, and architecture, you can never wander very far without seeing something of interest. Sometimes, things of surpassing interest.

Liverpool station and environs: contrasts!

At another entrance to the station, Richard Serro's
Fulcrum; 53 feet tall, the steel plates 2+ inches thick;
we loved his work--a whole special wing--at the
Guggenheim in Bilbao

Apparently rustoleum red was the color that year

A block or two away, a lonely menhir, obviously lost, 
attempts to hide

At an ancient brewery, Whitbread's, that we walked past; what
did the receiving department think when the king and queen
showed up?

Now walking past Smithfield Market, London's meat
market since the 10th century, and only ancient 
market still in operation in the same place; obviously
the building is much younger, although not so young
the developers are not eyeing it greedily; we think
the paint job may not be Medieval

Peering in; it's the afternoon and, in the meat market business,
you'd better have your job done by 7AM or so; I doubt we'll
ever seen this historic market in operation

Main Hall

Moving right along, we are now in Trafalgar Square;
all my previous pix of the Nelson column have been
of the back-side, so I wanted to get one, respectfully,
of the proper side

Tourists waiting for horse to kick or bite

The horse does not like his job; I wonder if they have considered
an animatronic horse; Disney Paris could probably loan them one 
to try out

So I knew of the Banqueting House, a part of the
Whitehall complex that was designed by Inigo
Jones in the early 1600s, but for whatever reason
it did not figure on our desirables list after the
Houses of Parliament; our final wanderings took us
by it

Apart from the art and architecture, the Banqueting
House was where King Charles I was executed; right
there by the plaque; beheaded; I wonder how many 
Americans know about this, or that there was a Civil
War somewhere other than the US

Moving right along, we are now in or near
Parliament Square looking at what we think was
the ground-zero designation for the Jubilee
Walks that cover much of historic London

Cross the street and you're in St. James Park; can't believe how
close it all is together

Looking in the vicinity of 10 Downing St.

Iconic view, showing how close it all to the Eye

As close as we got to Her Majesty that day; we got way closer 
at the Braemar Gathering, in September, 2009

Just outside the Admiralty Arch, Captain Cook

We ended our last day's little excursion, as several
others, at Covent Garden

These Are The Parks In Our Neighborhood

London is not known as a particularly green city. But central London, it seemed to us, had green aplenty, from the huge public parks...Hyde, Green, St. James, Kensington, Regent's...down to the smaller (a city block) parks and gardens in every part of the old city. From our location on Handel St., in Bloomsbury, there were four such parks within two blocks' walk, one just five doors down the street. All were beautifully landscaped and cared for, with 200 year old plane trees and others and ample benches. All found abundant but respectful use by the people of the neighborhood. All had excellent signage about their histories and features. And all were quite different. [click to enlarge and read the signs]

The red dot is where we live: St. George's Gardens to the east,

Brunswick Square Gardens to the south, Regents Square to the 

northeast, and Bramber Green to the north...if I were to go out 

three blocks or so, there would be half a dozen more parks and 

gardens...

Five doors down Handel St.; was originally the cemetery for two
churches; by Victorian times it was "overcrowded" and disused
and was then converted to a public park; most of the tombstones
line the perimeter, but the larger monuments were left in place

A line of stones separated the two churches' burial ground; still
there

Shakespeare in St. George's Gardens, the third week we were
there

When you're a 70-something, sitting on the ground is not all
that appealing; but listening to the Elizabethan language through
the open windows was fun

Regent's Square Garden was the plainest; a heretical 18th
century Scottish preacher and his church were the main story,
but a V2 destroyed the church in February 1945; not rebuilt

Badly damaged...

Brunswick Square Garden was perhaps the largest; just the
other side of the Pharmacy School behind us

Famous for its former residents

But famous also for its giant plane tree, 2nd oldest and 2nd largest
in London 

Thus

Bramber Green, on our way to Kings Cross, was the most 
traditional park, to our American eyes

With a doggie run

Human exercise facilities

A kiddie play area; rare in our experience here

And some sculpture, which also served as a kiddie play area; it
was also a filming location for a forthcoming Netflix series, but,
alas, I didn't have my camera with me that day...